FicWad

Mistaken Words

AN: I'd like to thank my editor! mogansgirl and Pious Knight I couldn't have done this without you!

Disclaimer: Don't own...wish I did though ^_~

The Last Piece

Dante came to his feet, and stretched his arms upwards, loosing the tense muscles in his back and shoulders. He had been seated at his desk for hours, going over his speech again and again, searching for anything that might need to be changed. It was coming, and he knew he needed to be completely prepared, for it would quite possibly be the most important moment of his life. He was fully aware that for several moments he would have every eye in the world watching him, hearing his words. And though that thought did not disturb him all that much, he desperately wanted this announcement to be perfect.

Yet there was no delicate way to say what he proposed, and he was positive that there would be many a terrified person when he had said his piece. What was important was to keep that number small, to make it clear to the people of the ESUN that he meant them no harm. Dante glanced back at his computer screen. He felt quite confident that the speech he had now would accomplish exactly what he wanted. He did not know yet when he would be giving the speech, progress on Zero was moving along steadily, and the last report that had been brought to him said it was almost complete.

Heero had been in their VR world for more than a month now; it was longer than Dante had wanted it to be. Yet he had quickly realised he could really hope for nothing less, the construction on the Gundam was slow, hampered also with Heero's refusals to cooperate. His earlier assumptions that Heero was purposely drawing them into the world, almost manipulating it as though he had control, did not seem altogether unfounded. His men continually had to find new ways to throw the pilot off guard to allow them a little more information on construction before Heero once more caught on, and they had to change tactics.

Walking somewhat distractedly Dante found himself on the far side of his office, eyes looking out over his colony. Men, women, and children moved about their little world, knowing in their hearts that he had everything under control. It was a monumental burden to carry, but one he felt he was now more than ever ready to handle. He was about to give his people exactly what they wanted, and he would do it without shedding the blood of a single innocent. Never again did he want to see the wars of old repeated, peace was the era they lived in now and he would help maintain it.

Dante leaned against the wall aqua eyes still taking in what of the colony he could see, and in his mind he began to question. ~/Was this really the right path? Have I truly tried everything?~/ it was certainly not the first time Dante had felt such doubts, and he would never let them be known, though he suspected Ash knew. There was very little he could keep from that man. Dante's heart was convinced; it was his mind he still had yet to prove it to.

The door to his office opened without warning, and Dante glanced its way, already knowing who would be standing there. Ash wore his usual smile, though it did not seem to reach his eyes, at least not this past month. The events that had lead to Heero being in VR weighed heavily upon Ash's mind, and though a part of him desperately wanted to set matters straight with his friend; Dante could tell Ash did not think that would be possible.

"News?" he asked simply shifting slightly where he was leaning, so he could better see his friend.

Ash nodded a spark entering his eyes that hadn't been there before, he was excited, "It's finished."

Dante's eyes went wide at that, though he had silently hoped that would be the news Ash carried, he had not actually allowed himself to believe it could be possible. "Then we're ahead of schedule..." he folded his arms across his chest, "And what of Heero?"

"They're preparing to move him to the hospital now" Ash replied voice solemn, and face unreadable.

"Good, tell them I want daily reports on his condition, and I want to be informed the moments he's awake and completely coherent." There was much Dante still wanted to say to the former pilot, whether Heero would listen or not was another matter, one he didn't intend to consider until he was finished speaking to him. "Have they any idea how long that could be?"

Ash stepped deeper into the room dropping himself down in a chair, "Not really," he began eyes watching the ceiling without interest. "The medic suspects the withdrawal could last for more than a week, but it's hard to say for sure."

"And the doctors will be informed not to give him Tylenol," it was the most common painkiller, and one he was deathly afraid of Heero being given.

"Yeah no worries, something like that wouldn't do him any good anyway, even if he could take it." Ash leaned forward, resting elbows on knees and considered Dante, "Have you finished your speech?"

Dante nodded, "Just. It's on the computer, why don't you tell me what you think?"

Ash nodded and came to his feet; quickly seating himself in Dante's previously vacated chair. Silence filled the room as the Free Born's leader allow his closest friend to read. Dante was not thinking about his speech, nor the recently completed Gundam. He was focused almost entirely on Heero, in his mind running through what he knew was to come. The last time he had been there to see what progress had been made Heero had looked haggard, his eyes sunken, skin drawn and pale. Dante knew that was all simply a result of the dehydration, but nevertheless it was not pleasant to see, he had stressed then a faster schedule if it could be managed. So that they could have Heero on the road to recovery as soon as possible.

Though they had managed to keep his muscle tone up, there was no way to keep him exactly as he had been. His endurance was bound to be non existent, and it would take some time to get him back to eating solid foods. Dante didn't know a great deal about Heero, outside of what Ash had related to him before this whole incident. But if half of what Ash had told him was true-and he believed it to be-then they were all in for a long hard couple of weeks.

"Is that a quote from Treize?" Ash asked, breaking through Dante's deeply brooding thoughts.

He blinked his mind processing the questions, and a tiny smile took his features, "A little paraphrased, but yes it is. I didn't think you'd notice," Dante stepped away from the window, and took a seat on the corner of his desk.

"It's sort of jumped out at me," Ash said with a smile, leaning back in the leather chair. "It's a good speech, I think it'll be well received."

"Only time will tell..." was Dante's dubious reply. He was not at all sure how well this speech would serve him, but then again there was only so much words on paper could do. Most of what made a speech good, or hopefully great, was the one who spoke the words, conveying his deepest emotions, the true reason behind the speech's creation.

"When are you planning on making the announcement?" Ash stood from the chair offering it back to Dante.

Considering the question for a moment as he settled himself back behind his desk, Dante let his eyes rove over the computer screen, not really seeing that which had been typed there. "I'd like to wait a couple of days, I want to make sure that Heero settles in, and is making some progress."

Ash nodded, his expression returning to that unreadable mask, "That's sound reasoning. I spoke to the tech guys before coming up here; they say that everything's in place for the speech and the conference afterwards. Just give the word," his hazel eyes had a distinctly distracted look to them, and Dante was fairly sure he could guess what his friend was wrestling with.

"Are you going to go and see him?" Dante inquired carefully, eyes not exactly watching Ash, who seemed to struggle physically with his answer.

"I really should...the doctors there won't know what they're in for..." he shoved his hands deep into his pockets, not looking at all happy about the decision.

"He won't know you're there," it was offered in an attempt to comfort, but Dante didn't think it helped much.

"What about you? You actually want to wait until he's awake..."

Dante sighed pressing his fingertips together; "There's a lot I want to straighten out with him, you should go and speak to him as well, you'll only feel worse if you don't."

"Yeah, you're right...it's just..." Ash mimicked Dante's sigh, "Going to take some time."

"I understand," the words were nothing really more than a whisper, but Dante truly did understand. For the last month Heero had been weighing heavily on his mind, Dante wanted to speak to him, get that moment behind him, no matter how it turned out.

*

Raking a hand through his hair, Ash sighed trying to will himself forward, through the glass doors, which stood like a solid barrier before him. It had been two days since Heero had been moved and still Ash was working up his courage. He was not sure how long he had been standing there, eyes staring fixedly at that clear obstacle. But people moved about him without a word, merely casting slightly confused glances, he was sure it was not the first time they had seen a man near paralysed with indecision. This was a hospital after all, and not everyone had an easy time walking in on the ones they cared about, to see them in this weakened state.

He blinked in surprise at the feel of someone's hand upon his arm. Glancing down he found a young nurse standing beside him, a concerned look on her face. "Can I help you?" she inquired, voice gentle, a sympathetic light in her eyes.

Ash offered her a smile, not sure if he wanted half the sympathy she was offering, but decided to ignore it. "I'm actually looking for someone," he said slowly, keeping his expression easy.

"Well you won't get very far standing here," she laughed softly, her eyes sparkling, and it was clear she was trying to raise his spirits.

"No I guess not," his eyes flicked to the door, and back to the young girl, he took note of her nametag Sonya, "I'm looking for my friend."

Sonya nodded her smile never faltering, "I can help you with that, what's your friend's name?"

"Heero Yuy," mentally he flinched, but externally nothing in his expression changed.

"Ah yes..." Sonya replied her eyes flickering away, and suddenly he felt like something in her manner had changed. "Please come this way," she turned and led the way through the glass doors.

Ash followed behind, a sinking feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. What was it that she did not feel comfortable telling him? He could tell there was something and is seemed serious, but he didn't question, merely followed, knowing it would be made clear in time. They made their way through the private section of the hospital until they came to the ICU where Heero was being monitored. Sonya stopped at the tall desk, and spoke quietly to the older woman seated behind it.

"Elie will be able to assist you with anything you might need," Sonya smiled, touching a hand once more to his arm before turning to leave.

Nodding Ash turned his attention to this new woman, "Could you tell me which room is Heero's?" he asked still not entirely sure himself if he wanted to go to that room and see his friend.

Elie glanced at her computer screen before returning her browns eyes to him; "He's in room four, Dr. Stevens is overseeing his care, but he's stepped out for the moment. You may go to see your friend, and I'll have Dr. Stevens consult with you as soon as he comes back."

"Thank you," Ash breathed drumming his fingers once upon the countertop before walking down the hall. It took him no time at all to reach room four, just like all the others that came before it, at least in design. The wall facing out to the hall was almost solid glass allowing passing nurses an easy view of their patience.

Ash halted dead in his tracks when his eyes landed on Heero for the first time. It was the last thing he had been expecting to see, and it made his blood boil with indignation, and a certain amount of rage. Turning on his heels Ash marched right back to the nurses station, and slammed his hand down to get Elie's attention, "Why is he in five point restraints?!"

"I can answer that question," a calm voice put in, causing a look of relief to wash over Elie's startled face. Ash's eyes focused upon an older doctor who had apparently just walked in, his face was lined and his hair straight grey. "I'm Dr. Stevens, please" he motioned for Ash to come with him back to Heero's room.

"So what is the meaning of this?!" Ash demanded to know once they were once more looking in on Heero, who lay pale and drawn amidst machines and leather straps.

Stevens drew in a breath and turned to face Ash, "We didn't have him like this when he first arrived. But your friend has gone into withdrawal, and when he's awake he is not cognitive. He's become a danger to himself and the staff trying to tend to his needs. One of our nurses had her arm broken, and we cannot afford the risk to himself or anyone who works around him."

Ash stood there in silence, trying to digest what he had been told, his hazel eyes scanning Heero's unconscious form. His friend no longer looked dehydrated, but something else had moved in to take its place, leaving him looking, if possible, even worse. Ash figured what he was seeing was the effects withdrawal was having on him. Heero's skin shone with a layer of perspiration, and his usually hard features looked vulnerable, pained, as though even in sleep he was struggling with something monumental.

"He will make it through this..." the doctor told him as a comfort

"I have no doubt of that," Ash replied placing the palm of one hand against the glass. ~/Will you be able to forgive me when this is all said and done?/~ Something deep inside Ash truly doubted, a small voice whispering that there was no going back, he tried his best to crush it, knowing it could not know everything. It was not like there had been much of a friendship there to begin with but Ash couldn't help but find himself drawn to the mysterious pilot. There was so much about him that Ash did not know that he wanted to find the answers to.

"You can go in if you'd like," Dr Stevens offered, his blue eyes watching Ash with some interest.

The hazel eyed man nodded without thought, his feet carrying him before he had even consciously decided that's where he wanted to be. Ash found himself standing just inside the door, his legs frozen, no longer controlling themselves. The vast majority of his conscious wanted to be away from here now, it had seen that Heero was alive, and would be well in time, that was enough, it wanted to leave. But there was a smaller, surprisingly stronger side of Ash's mind that wanted to remain, to actually close the distance between them.

Before he could think better of it, Ash found himself wading through all the tubes wires and machines which seemed to be living for Heero, rather than helping him. Standing so close now Ash could make out details he had before missed, Heero's face seemed contorted him some form of pain, and a muscle in his neck twitched. His hands gripped the sheets tucked around him until his knuckles were white, and Ash knew anything his friend was seeing could not possibly be good. Ash settled a hand on the cold metal rail of the hospital bed, wishing there was something he could do to easy his friend's discomfort.

~/I have no right to keep thinking him of him like that/~ Ash chided himself mentally while his eyes never left Heero's sweat soaked face. ~/The last thing I can offer as a friend is to leave him in peace.../~ "Some peace..." he mumbled sarcastically, releasing his grip on the bed. With a sigh he turned to leave the room, getting the overwhelming sensation that he did not belong here any longer, what welcome he might have believed he had was now outlived.

Making to exit the room by the same path he had entered, careful not to disturb the various machines, Ash was pulled to a halt by the sound of Heero's groan. Turning he saw the former pilot begin to thrash violently where he lay. The heart monitor, what was once a steady background noise, now moved to the forefront of his attention, a rapid screech in the no longer silent room. Ash could hear other monitors sound their alarms but his attention was only on Heero.

For the briefest instant Ash's heart stopped when he saw that Heero's prussian eyes were slightly opened. But he quickly realised that there was no comprehension behind those glazed orbs. The Japanese man's breathing became ragged as he struggled against something Ash could not even imagine. Vaguely in the back of his mind Ash registered the commotion in the hall leading to Heero's room, and voices commanding him to move out of the way. But he paid them no mind, instead moving back to where he had been standing, eyes never leaving Heero's horror filled face.

Heero might not been aware of where he was, but he still had a sense for the space around himself. As Ash noticed a violent change in his thrashing once he was standing beside Heero. He could not begin to imagine what it must have felt like to know someone was near you and not know whether they were friend or foe. Heero obviously assumed foe, Ash did not touch him, it was clear that would only aggravate him more, instead he began to speak.

Ash's mind screamed at him to be away from here, but he was not moving, he felt someone grip his arm trying to forcibly remove him from where he stood rooted near the bed. "It's alright Heero..." he breathed casting a glare in the direction of the doctor who had his arm, nothing was going to take him from where he was now. He could not tell if Heero understood his words, or even heard them, but he kept speaking, unable to think of anything else to do. "I've got your back...it's okay you can relax..." he hoped it would help but that Heero wouldn't actually know it was him speaking.

The buzz in the room slowly died down, as both machines and medical staff began to quiet. Heero blinked his eyes still unseeing, slowly his breathing began to even out, and he went limp on the bed, seeming like the last of his energy had been zapped from his worn body. For only a heartbeat Heero's unfocused eyes turned to look directly at him, and Ash's heart stopped, but there was still no recognition in them. Ash breathed a sigh of relief as Heero's eyes finally fell closed; everything seemed back to the way it was though Heero's expression did not seem quite so pained.

Sighing, Ash pulled a hand through his hair, eyes finally looking about the room to the doctor and nurses who stood there staring at him in disbelief. Not feeling like dealing with the question he could already see in their eyes, Ash quickly pushed towards the door. He heard Dr Stevens call out to him as he strode down the halls, but he did not stop.

*

Unconsciously straightening his business suit, Dante made his way down the well lit corridor towards the ultimate prize, the last piece of his plan. Wing Zero, the most magnificent of all the Gundams, also rumoured to be the most deadly. Dante knew very little of it, he had heard whispers of the ZERO system during the war, and how dangerous it was, but unfortunately all real information pertaining to system was completely classified, and was now no longer available. Someone had gone out of their way to destroy all evidence of the Gundams when the war ended.

This was why he had been forced to track one of the pilots down directly; he felt a pang at that thought, regretting yet again that Heero had not confided in them. But his resolve had been set for some time, and he was not about to let such feelings as these halt his plans. His mind now on Heero, Dante could not help but wonder how he was doing. He had received a report only an hour ago informing him that Heero had not yet awoken. He felt reassured in the fact that the doctors there were doing all they could to secure Heero's comfort. And he was assured further by the knowledge that Ash had finally worked up the nerve to go and visit him.

Blinking, Dante looked up and realised he had come to the end of the hall, with a sigh he punched in the code to open the door, which blocked his path, and watched as it slide to the side. Bright light spilled out onto Dante's face illuminating his almost awed expression as his eyes beheld the sight before him. Rising up before him to crest a height of fifty-five feet, stood the bane of OZ and White Fangs existence, the Wing Zero. For a moment all Dante could do was stare, never before had he been in the presence of something so grand, and it amazed him that something inanimate could hold such an overpowering aura. Green eyes seem to glint with an internal light, and he felt a chill run down his spine at the thought of it having him in its sights.

With a slight shake of his head Dante brought himself back to the present and his real reason for being here. The massive room was far from empty, and men moved about their different tasks, Dante could not even begin to imagine what. His eyes roved about in search of one man in particular. Lucas was the head engineer, no one on the colony knew more than him about mobile suit construction and therefore he had been placed in charge of building Zero.

Stepping into the room, Dante tried not to let the feeling of being totally dwarfed by Zero cause him to hunch his shoulders, but it was a conscious effort. Slowly he made his way closer doing his best not to gawk; he had seen the Gundam through the various stages of construction, but nothing could truly prepare him for the finished piece. Dante found his eyes kept trailing to the Gundam's wings; he found them fascinating, so much like angel wings, and the did not really seem to fit upon a Gundam that Heero Yuy would have piloted, even though they were a perfect fit for what he saw before him.

Over to his far right there was a long staircase leading up and breaking off at various catwalks that were used in the construction. It was to this that Dante made his way, feeling that if Lucas was to be found anywhere it would be near or in the cockpit. That was the part of the Gundam that he had been just drooling to see, Dante didn't really see the draw, though he did admit he was curious. Scaling the stairs two at a time, Dante's presence seemed to go unnoticed by the workers busy with their tasks. He observed them silently, as he continued his climb, noting with pleasure how much care all of them put into their work. Each and every man present knew exactly what this Gundam meant for them, and they were all eager to see it put to use.

"Dante!" a richly accented voice called, from down the catwalk he had just stepped on. Looking up from where his eyes had been cast down-taking in the distance below-Dante saw just the man he had been seeking out. Lucas pulled himself out of the cockpit his long red hair tied by in its usual ponytail. He strode over a smile on his face, but there was a look of concern in his eyes, and something Dante almost thought resembled horror.

"You came a just the right time," Lucas offered his hand, which Dante readily took.

"How is everything? Are we ready?" he asked as they walked back towards the cockpit, Dante's blue-green eyes scanning it's interior with some interest.

"Ahhh...yeah...about that..." the engineer breathed running a hand over his head.

Dante's eyes shot over to him, "What is it?"

"I was about to run a few programs while in the cockpit, but the moment I hit a switch this warning came up."

"What sort of warning?" Dante questioned feeling uneasy at the hesitation in Lucas' voice.

"It said that the controls had been switched..." his face narrowed into a glare, "Including the self destruct..."

Dante burst out laughing, drawing more than one curious look from the workers. It was the last thing he had expected Lucas to say, but it did not surprise him at all that Heero had been able to pull that off. Shaking his head slowly back and forth, his mirth died down, "Only Heero..."

"Sir I really don't think this is anything to laugh at," Lucas put in respectfully.

"It's alright Lucas, I never needed the controls to be operational," he stepped closer to the cockpit, and leaned in taking in the cramped quarters. His eyes looked up above him trying to see everything clearly, and with a shrug Dante moved to seat himself in the pilots chair. "What options do we have to trigger the self destruct?" he asked hands lightly caressing the controls.

Lucas seemed to consider this for a moment, "It shouldn't be hard," he began leaning himself against the Gundam, arms folded across his chest. "I can link its computer to one down there, and trigger a simultaneous striking of every key, one of them has to be the self destruct."

"Are we sure the self destruct is operational?" it was a question that had just occurred to Dante, what if Heero had skipped that part out all together?

"Yeah, the tech boys made sure of that."

Dante breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Then we'll be ready for the speech by tomorrow or the day after." Lucas nodded in affirmation pushing himself off the Gundam, and offering Dante a hand out. Accepting the hand Dante stepped out of Zero, and straightened to his full height, allowing his eyes to over look all that he had wanted to create. There were almost there, almost to the end everyone wanted.

Walking the short distance to the edge of the catwalk, Dante gripped the rail, and leaning out over the edge took in all the men working so diligently, every last one of them a former solider from the war. All working towards a common goal. "I ask you, what of the soldier who fought bravely for this world and lived? Are they to be forgotten, cast aside as nameless, and called only obsolete? We do not recognise ourselves as such; we retain a strong will to protect this peace in the same way we always have," the words slipped from his mouth with a fluid air of something well practised.

"What was that?" Lucas inquired from where he had been quietly standing beside him.

Dante looked to him an smiled, "Exactly what we want the world to realise we believe."

Thanks for reading!

A Question Answered:

Wufei stood arms crossed over his chest, eyes fixed upon Relena's TV, they had been watching, the morning news when the shot had suddenly cut, and come back to something entirely different. The two of them were motionless in Relena's living room eyes unable to leave the screen as they heard Dante's words. Both were familiar with the man as one of the many Colonial leaders, he had been a strong supporter of Quatre, but had not been in the spotlight for some time.

Relena gasped, both hands moving to cover her mouth as her eyes became slightly watery with unshed tears, "It's him..." she whispered in a shaking voice one hand pointing at the screen.

"What?" Wufei burst out in shock, but before she could respond Dante began to speak again.

"The world we once knew is gone, a new greater image has emerged, and we have all been made stronger for it." He raised a hand at this, a simple gesture, but it conveyed so much of his strongly felt emotions, "We listen, where once we could not hear, understand when there was a time we did not comprehend, and love when before we could only hate."

Wufei totally at a loss for words, reached down a hand to carefully place it on Relena's small shoulder. ~/What the hell is going on?~/ he wondered silently, why had Dante kidnapped Relena, this did not seem to fit with his personality at all. He was far to smart a man to use such tactics...wasn't he? Wufei's cell phone rang suddenly breaking his train of thought, and almost in a daze he reached for it.

"Yeah?"

"Wufei Une want's us in her office," Trowa told him simply, his voice sounds as perplexed as Wufei felt, "I have a bad feeling about this."

Morganeth Taren'drel